The Town with Matthew Belloni · 2026-10-09
Danny Boyle on Depicting Murdoch, AI, Bond, and ‘28 Years Later’
This is Wakewire's analysis, based on the recording and the passages quoted here. Tone and candor labels are our read, not a finding about anyone's motive. Our standards
- Source
- The Town with Matthew Belloni
- Released
- 2026-10-10
- We read it
- 2026-10-10
- Recording
- Full episode
- Read confidence
- medium
- Review
- Passed automatic checks
What the episode covered
Danny Boyle said Ink presents the Murdoch-Larry Lamb launch of The Sun as an early point in the media world the film connects to the present. The conversation had a mixed register, concrete on permissions, financing, and AI use, more guarded on causes and final judgment. Watch the film’s release, rights choices, and Boyle’s next projects for what becomes checkable.
Our summary, written from the transcript. Not the speakers' words.
The episode, in order
01Ink and Murdoch’s origin point
The film is being framed as more than a period media story, with present-day stakes around tabloid ethics, misinformation, and platform power.
02Boyle’s outsider identity
It explains why he reads the story through class, resentment, and institutional access rather than only through Murdoch’s power.
03Permissions and limits
The recording shows the movie’s argument was shaped partly by what could be licensed or shown.
04AI in filmmaking
His position is practical rather than absolute, accepting some AI use while drawing a line around labor replacement.
05Financing and platforms
The film’s path reflects the same platform and gatekeeper questions the conversation raises about journalism, art, and distribution.
06Craft and career
Those sections show his consistent preference for communal, energetic, project-driven filmmaking.
Sponsors named in this episode
| Sponsor stated | Where, claim and disclosure |
|---|---|
| FanDuel |
|
| The Home Depot |
|
| The Social Reckoning |
|
| Boar's Head |
|
| Tremphia |
|
No sponsor named doesn't mean no ads. Each row was taken from the ad break as it was read on air. The verbatim passage behind every row is checked against the transcript character for character. Short excerpts appear below.
Roles and stated affiliations
Sponsor or conflict flagged. Advertised film overlaps with episode topic — The transcript includes an ad for The Social Reckoning, and the host also discusses The Social Reckoning as an example of films based on current media and technology conflicts. · Distributor involvement disclosed in discussion — Boyle said StudioCanal and Netflix were involved in the event while discussing financing and distribution for Inc. The transcript does not present them as ad sponsors.
Wakewire's read of interests
- Matthew Belloni: He hosts the interview, frames the discussion around Hollywood business and media power, and introduces Inc as a film he enjoyed.
- Danny Boyle: He is promoting Inc and explaining his creative, financing, permissions, and AI choices around the film.
- StudioCanal: Boyle said StudioCanal helped finance the film and was involved in the event.
- Netflix: Boyle said Netflix bought the film for America, was involved in the event, and would release it in cinemas for four weeks.
- FanDuel, The Home Depot, The Social Reckoning, Boar's Head, and Tremphia: They appear as commercial sponsors or advertised products in the transcript.
Claims that need more support
- Boyle said The Sun's profits financed Murdoch's purchase of 20th Century Fox and the establishment of Fox News, but the episode did not provide figures or records for that financing.
Claims made on air that the episode itself did not back up.
Questions the conversation didn't reach
- Boyle did not identify which specific financing counterparties declined to fund Ink or why they declined.
- Boyle did not give a yes-or-no assessment on whether Rupert Murdoch has been good or bad for media during the recording.
Topics the episode did not address. This does not mean anyone avoided them.
Are you from this show? You can ask for a correction, reply, or ask us to stop coverage on the rights page.
The read
The strongest read is not that Boyle came to give a simple anti-Murdoch verdict. He framed Ink as a contemporary media origin story, but the more concrete subtext is practical constraint: brand permissions, denied footage, financiers, platform distribution, and a filmmaker trying to keep interpretive control. Charitably, that is a director protecting ambiguity until the audience sees the film. Boringly, it is normal rights, financing, and distribution management around a politically sensitive subject. Skeptically, the recording asks listeners to accept several business and historical links without records, figures, or the declined counterparties speaking for themselves.
This read assumes: The transcript represents the relevant aired conversation. The quoted permissions discussion is central to how the film’s argument was described. No outside information about the film, sponsors, or companies is being used.
Every opinion labeled as one. This is Wakewire's analysis of the recording, not a finding about anyone's motive.
What was said
Ink and Murdoch’s origin point
Boyle said the film focuses on the meeting of Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb around The Sun and treats it as the start of something that reaches into the present.
Boyle’s outsider identity
Boyle pushed back on being called a glamorized disruptor and said he identified with Lamb’s northern outsider status and punk energy.
Permissions and limits
Boyle said the production obtained some Sun permissions, was denied some later headline permissions, and was declined Fox News footage.
AI in filmmaking
Boyle described AI as part of the visual effects toolbox and said the film used it in limited ways for Thatcher without replacing anyone.
Financing and platforms
Boyle said Ink was hard to finance, StudioCanal gave money, and Netflix bought it for America.
Craft and career
Boyle discussed music-led editing, siege mentality, Shallow Grave, Bond, the Olympics, and the public nature of cinema.
Our paraphrase, not the speakers' words.
The passages we relied on
"And that has been difficult because we lacked permissions. We got lots of permissions from The Sun because they liked the stage play and so we got, we're very fortunate that we got, you know, so the paper didn't have…"
"the town is presented by FanDuel. Have you heard the news? FanDuel"
"This episode is brought to you by The Home Depot. The Home"
"This episode is brought to you by the new movie The Social"
"This episode is brought to you by Boar's Head. What if we"
Short excerpts, credited to the show, at most 40 words each and 150 per episode. We do not publish transcripts. We link to the episode so you can hear it from the show itself.
What to watch for
- The released film includes The Sun name but does not include the Fox News footage Boyle said was declined. (film release window)
- Netflix gives the film the four-week U.S. theatrical release Boyle described. (U.S. release)
- A company announcement or trade report says the third 28 project has financing, a greenlight, or a production start. (medium term)
- A financing or casting announcement is made for Boyle’s Antarctica film. (medium term)
- Future promotion for Ink provides records, figures, or named counterparties explaining why financing was difficult. (press cycle)
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